The 1999 NHL expansion draft was an
expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...
held by the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) to fill the roster of the league's expansion team for the
1999–2000 season, the
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...
. The draft took place on June 25, 1999, in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, U.S.
Rules
The Thrashers were to select 26 players, one from each existing franchise (except for the
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...
) at the time of the draft. Each franchise was allowed to protect either one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards or two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards. Teams which lost goaltenders in the
1998 NHL expansion draft (Anaheim, Los Angeles, Montreal, New Jersey and the New York Rangers) could not lose a goaltender in the 1999 draft.
The Thrashers were to choose at least three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and thirteen forwards. Their final two choices could be from any position.
Protected players
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Draft results
''These results are numbered 1–26 for aesthetic purposes, but the players were not necessarily chosen in this order. As the Thrashers were the only team participating in the draft, the order is inconsequential.''
Deals
In return for agreeing not to select certain unprotected players, the Thrashers were granted concessions by other franchises. The trades were officially booked as being for "future considerations":
*Ottawa traded
Damian Rhodes to Atlanta on June 18, 1999
*Buffalo traded
Dean Sylvester to Atlanta on June 25, 1999
*Calgary traded
Andreas Karlsson to Atlanta on June 25, 1999
*Detroit traded
Ulf Samuelsson to Atlanta on June 25, 1999
*New Jersey traded
Sergei Vyshedkevich to Atlanta on June 25, 1999
*Phoenix traded
Scott Langkow to Atlanta on June 25, 1999
Post-draft
Several of the players selected by the Thrashers in the expansion draft did not stay with the team long after the draft. In fact, the Thrashers traded two players later in the same day:
*Trevor Kidd (traded to Florida for
Gord Murphy,
Daniel Tjarnqvist,
Herberts Vasiljevs, and a sixth-round pick (
Justin Cox) in the
1999 NHL entry draft)
*Peter Ferraro (traded to Boston for
Randy Robitaille)
Other players who were no longer on the Thrashers' roster at the start of the
1999–2000 season include the following:
*Phil Crowe (traded to Nashville for future considerations on June 26, 1999)
*Jamie Pushor (traded to Dallas for
Jason Botterill
Jason Drandon Botterill (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and executive who is the general manager of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Botterill was the former associate GM of the ...
and cash and seventh-round draft pick on July 15, 1999)
*Terry Yake (claimed off waivers by St. Louis on September 30, 1999)
*Alexei Yegorov (released before the season began)
*Mark Tinordi (retired before the season began)
See also
*
1999 NHL entry draft
*
1999–2000 NHL season
The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...
References
External links
1999 NHL Expansion Draft player statsa
The Internet Hockey DatabaseUsenet post entitled "All-Time Thrashers - How They Came And Left"
{{1999–2000 NHL season by team
Expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...
Atlanta Thrashers
NHL expansion drafts
1999 in Boston
Ice hockey in Boston
1999 in sports in Massachusetts
June 1999 sports events in the United States